The present invention relates generally to thin-film solar technology. More particularly, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for clamping frameless thin-film solar module. Merely by way of example, the present invention is applied for mounting one or more frameless thin-film solar modules made on large planar glass panels, but it would be recognized that the invention may have many applications.
From the beginning of time, mankind has been challenged to find way of harnessing energy. Energy comes in the forms such as petrochemical, hydroelectric, nuclear, wind, biomass, solar, and more primitive forms such as wood and coal. Over the past century, modern civilization has relied upon petrochemical energy as an important energy source. Petrochemical energy includes gas and oil. Gas includes lighter forms such as butane and propane, commonly used to heat homes and serve as fuel for cooking. Gas also includes gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel, commonly used for transportation purposes. Heavier forms of petrochemicals can also be used to heat homes in some places. Unfortunately, the supply of petrochemical fuel is limited and essentially fixed based upon the amount available on the planet Earth. Additionally, as more people use petroleum products in growing amounts, it is rapidly becoming a scarce resource, which will eventually become depleted over time.
More recently, environmentally clean and renewable sources of energy have been desired. An example of a clean source of energy is hydroelectric power. Hydroelectric power is derived from electric generators driven by the flow of water produced by dams such as the Hoover Dam in Nevada. The electric power generated is used to power a large portion of the city of Los Angeles in California. Clean and renewable sources of energy also include wind, waves, biomass, and the like. That is, windmills convert wind energy into more useful forms of energy such as electricity. Still other types of clean energy include solar energy. Specific details of solar energy can be found throughout the present background and more particularly below.
Solar energy technology generally converts electromagnetic radiation from the sun to other useful forms of energy. These other forms of energy include thermal energy and electrical power. For electrical power applications, solar cells are often used. Although solar energy is environmentally clean and has been successful to a point, many limitations remain to be resolved before it becomes widely used throughout the world. As an example, one type of solar cell uses crystalline materials, which are derived from semiconductor material ingots. These crystalline materials can be used to fabricate optoelectronic devices that include photovoltaic and photodiode devices that convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical power. However, crystalline materials are often costly and difficult to make on a large scale. Additionally, devices made from such crystalline materials often have low energy conversion efficiencies. Other types of solar cells use “thin film” technology to form a thin film of photosensitive material to be used to convert electromagnetic radiation into electrical power. Similar limitations exist with the use of thin film technology in making solar cells. In some state-of-art thin-film solar modules, glass panel with a size as large as 5 foot×2 foot or greater is used as substrate for forming the thin-film solar cells and a comparable size cover glass is attached, resulting in large cost reduction compared to assembling many Si-based solar cells made on much smaller sized silicon wafers. Upon the achievement of proper edge sealing technology, the thin-film solar module formed on those large size glass panels can be made as a frameless configuration for further reduction in manufacture and installation cost. However, no existing mounting clip device is properly designed for directly clamping the glass surface especially with consideration of providing enough support while minimizing any strain force that may result in the breakage of glass substrate. From the above, it is seen that improved method and apparatus for clamping frameless glass panels for mounting thin-film solar modules are desired.